Lee Hurrell

[Matsukaze]

Congratulations Lee!

[ChrisC]

it would appear you don't need hand with all the birds Lee I have pm'ed the address for the invitation seriously though, congratulations to you both.

Chris

[Lee Hurrell]

Thanks all, Dave, Gibster, Matsukaze and Chris

Well, our favourite service stop is Leigh Delamere on the M4, it's the one we always stop at en route to my mum's in Somerset!

Any hints or tips you'd like to divulge, I think my Sami may be awaiting a similar event sometime in the (um, nearish) future.

Gibster, you can't go far wrong by following the advice from Susie's recent signature

I didn't realise you lot were so romantic! Who will be the first UKButts wedding! Gibster & Sami?

Well no date set yet, and there's talk of a new bathroom first, so ours won't be for a while yet. Over to you Gibster?

Oh, and I hope you remember that her engagement ring must be at least worth a month's salary.

Ahem, I know....!

[Susie]

Jolly good.

[Matsukaze]

The best service station for us butterfly lovers has to be Clacket Lane on the M25, where I took this photo:

No doubt it also has Purple and White-letter Hairstreaks.

[Neil Hulme]

Nice one - I can see HIM
Neil

[Susie]

Horny little devil, ain't he.

[Lee Hurrell]

Well that's brightened up a grey morning

I was at Clackett Lane a couple of weeks ago. We also like that one as we normally stop there too on way/way back from Kent. Plus I'm from Sevenoaks so it was my nearest one. I always make a point of looking at the Sallows now after sightings were reported last year. (Was that you Matsukaze?)

I also love that stretch heading clockwise after Clacket Lane with the downs visible and where the woods sort of scallop, it always makes me want to go walking

See you in July little feller.

[Gibster]

Of course, if the locality is right (and I'm thinking Mountain Ringlet habbo - my last remaining mainland resident species - and in warm sunshine, say in late June...) with enough UKButterflies members present...naturally there would have to be elves and pixies present, with fairy lights and lots of bling (Sami's tastes are truly impeccable!) then maybe - just maybe - my mind could be swayed. Maybe.

Aaah, farewell sweet freedom, twas good knowing you

[Gibster]

Um... Sam's just read the above post and...well, um...suffice to say she's kinda excited.

(Naturally so am I - it's not every day you get a chance to see Mountain Ringlets is it?) :l

[Susie]

In my great old age I look at young couples such as yourselves and do wonder why women are so keen to get married and men are so resistant. It should be the other way around

Married men have better physical and mental health than single men and they live longer on average too. Once married men might have lost out financially to their single brothers but now with women becoming the greater wage earner in many homes that isn't the case. Conversely married women do far more work in the home than their husbands regardless of whether they work full time or not and their health is poorer than their single sisters.

The price of an engagement ring seems a small payment in return for a lifetime of hard graft from the lady

P.S. Apologies for hijacking your thread, Lee, delete at will.

[Lee Hurrell]

Um... Sam's just read the above post and...well, um...suffice to say she's kinda excited.

Good luck Lee, this is thin ice we're skating on!!!

Good luck to you and Sami too Gibster. I hope this hasn't forced anyone's hand but do keep us informed!

All the best,

Lee

[Gibster]

Ha! It seems that the only one with any idea of what's occurring around here is Susie...guess that her 'great old age' puts her at an advantage, the ol' codger!!

[Susie]

I'll have been married 18 years this year, I know what I'm talking about.

[Lee Hurrell]

Thursday 3rd March 2011

Raptors

I was at the Cardington Airship Sheds in Bedfordshire yesterday with work. They are huge, 55m high, 247m long and 83m wide. You get a sense of how big the airships must have been just by looking at the sheds from the outside.

http://transportheritage.com/find-herit ... obi2Id=197

For a change, I wasn't driving so I was enjoying the countryside from the passenger seat.

Alongside the M1 I saw 1 Buzzard, 1 Red Kite and a male Hen Harrier hunting, the first one I've ever knowingly seen

[David M]

In my great old age I look at young couples such as yourselves and do wonder why women are so keen to get married and men are so resistant. It should be the other way around

Married men have better physical and mental health than single men and they live longer on average too. Once married men might have lost out financially to their single brothers but now with women becoming the greater wage earner in many homes that isn't the case. Conversely married women do far more work in the home than their husbands regardless of whether they work full time or not and their health is poorer than their single sisters.

The price of an engagement ring seems a small payment in return for a lifetime of hard graft from the lady

P.S. Apologies for hijacking your thread, Lee, delete at will.

That's not a hijack, it's a political manifesto.

[Gibster]

That's not a hijack, it's a political manifesto.

Spot on mate, spot on!!!!

[Lee Hurrell]

Sunday 6th March 2011

Save our Forests?

I spent a quick 15 minutes over at the cemetery this afternoon. I was a little dismayed to see the tree I saw my last butterfly of 2010 (Red Admiral, 24th October) flying around had been felled. It was a mature tree, of grand age and covered in ivy. Still, I don't own the ground and I don't know what, if anything, was wrong with the tree.

Just still too chilly for any butterflies but I did see 2 small flocks of unidentified song birds and 5 or 6 Redwings.

While over there there was a loud cracking sound to which I turned to see another massive tree falling to the ground with a huge thud.

This tree was one of a group that stood in a line in front of the cemetery. It seems this felling was natural though, upon closer inspection the tree was damp in the middle. Still, it's lucky no one was walking or driving past at the time.

[Lee Hurrell]

First of the Year

And we're off - I was delighted to see a Red Admiral in the garden this morning at 09.12. It was sunny, with a little breeze but no more than 9 degrees.

First sighting of the year

Off to Worcestershire today for a week so will hopefully have a few more sightings.

[Lee Hurrell]

Peopleton

We're staying at my aunt and uncle's in Peopleton, near Pershore, looking after their boxer, Alice. My nan lives nearby.

Here's Alice, looking happy:

After a drizzly start the sun broke mid morning and it has been glorious today, the first proper day of T-shirt weather. We were at my nan's for lunch and it was no surprise to see a Peacock fly through the garden at around 2pm. Must have been at least 13, 14 degrees. Plenty of bees about too.

After leaving I was itching to go for a walk and a couple of miles around the fields between 3 and 4pm yielded no butterflies but a few more bees.

Here's one of the views and my attempt at an arty daff shot:

I have notched up 17 species of bird today without really trying though: Rook, Crow, Jackdaw, Magpie, Blackbird, Starling, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Buzzard, House Sparrow, Robin, Dunnock, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Blue Tit.